Notes from the Scientific Department

VRG Nutrition Advisors Suzanne Havala and Reed Mangels were interviewed by the Associated Press for a story about the limited options available to children who want vegetarian entrées in school meals. The story ran in newspapers around the country beginning September 2, 2001.

Sue was also interviewed for two segments of Cable Radio Network's Celebrity Chef program with Chef Piero on the subjects of vegetarian diets and vegetarian cooking, as well as for CBS radio on the subject of vegetarian choices for school meals. Cable Radio Network airs in 18 million households across 43 states.

Sue was also interviewed by Seventeen magazine for a feature story on vegetarian teens, as well as by Pages magazine for a story celebrating the 20th anniversary of the cookbook Laurel's Kitchen.

Reed was interviewed by the London Times for a story about vegetarian school lunches. She was also interviewed for a column "Beyond the Headlines" in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association about recent research showing that vegetarians have higher levels of salicylic acid (see VJ Nov/Dec 2001 "Scientific Update" for more information on the research).

Nancy Berkoff gave a presentation at the annual American Dietetic Association annual meeting in St. Louis. Over 275 RDs and health professionals attended her lecture entitled, "Implementing Vegetarian Menus into Food Service."

Her article on childhood obesity ran as a feature in the Orange County Register (California), discussing the advantages of vegetarian menu items and the adequacies of vegetarian diets for children. Nancy also appeared on several radio programs, including "The Produce Pair" (nationally syndicated), speaking about Vegan Meals for One or Two and how to prepare vegetarian meals and snacks for children. She was interviewed on the "Supermarket Savvy" show (WOR in NY) about the health benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle and on "The Wave" radio station in LA about vegetarian holiday menu items.

In October, Nancy was the featured chef on www.friedas.com (Frieda's Finest, an international produce and soy foods company). She received about 100 questions about vegetarian issues from consumers and food professionals.